MLB.com's Carrie Muskat has been covering Major League Baseball since 1981 and is the author of "Banks to Sandberg to Grace: Five Decades of Love and Frustration with the Cubs." You can follow her on Twitter @CarrieMuskat. Here, she blogs about the Cubs.

The Cubs trimmed nine players from their Spring Training camp roster on Sunday. Mitch Atkins was optioned to Triple-A Iowa and David Patton was optioned to Double-A Tennessee. Catchers Steve Clevenger and Blake Lalli; outfielder Brett Jackson; infielders Matt Camp and Josh Vitters; and pitchers Jeff Kennard and Vince Perkins all were assigned to the Minor League camp. Jackson was the Cubs’ No. 1 Draft pick last June, and Vitters was the top pick in 2007.

Even though the Cubs will be at home Saturday and Sunday at HoHoKam Park, they will use a designated hitter because the visiting clubs requested it.

“It’s good for us in a way because we can get [Xavier] Nady in there and get him some at-bats,” Lou Piniella said of the outfielder, who is rehabbing from Tommy John surgery on his right elbow.

Nady was expected to start at DH either Saturday or Sunday. Alfonso Soriano was expected to start in left field on Saturday.

* Kevin Millar will likely play first base and left field this spring for the Cubs.

* David Patton, the Cubs’ Rule 5 pick a year ago, will most likely start at Double-A Tennessee this year.

“That’s been the scuttlebutt as to where he’ll end up,” Piniella said of the right-hander. “Remember this kid was out of [Class A] ball. Basically the whole time he was here, we were a first place team or battling for first place. It wasn’t easy on him. He made it through the whole summer and now we have him in our system.”

* Former Cubs pitcher Rick Sutcliffe showed up Thursday.

“I heard you were looking for a veteran starting pitcher,” Sutcliffe said to Piniella. “Where’s [Greg] Maddux at?”

Maddux actually has returned home, but will rejoin the Cubs after their trip to Las Vegas on March 13.

Lou Piniella decided to give a few of the regulars a day off Wednesday, so no Aramis Ramirez, no Ryan Theriot and no Alfonso Soriano in the lineup. Also, the Cubs activated right-handed pitcher David Patton from the disabled list, and he was available. Patton had been on the DL since July 6 with a right groin strain. He was able to pitch back to back days Saturday and Sunday for Triple-A Iowa, and said he’s feeling 100 percent healthy.

The Cubs begin play Monday 5 1/2 games behind the Rockies and Giants in the National League Wild Card race.

“There’s still time,” Lou Piniella said. “We’ll see what happens.”

* The Cubs will add three players on Tuesday, Sept. 1, when rosters expand. Expect to see Micah Hoffpauir, Andres Blanco and Justin Berg. On Wednesday, David Patton was expected to join the Cubs. They’ll add seven to eight players.

* Geovany Soto said he understands why Piniella has decided to lean more on Koyie Hill. Soto was batting .212 for the season, and Piniella said it’s a “mystery” as to why the young catcher is struggling in his sophomore season.

“I would’ve thought that coming into this season he’d have a solid season,” Piniella said of Soto, the 2008 Rookie of the Year. “Maybe not .280 like he hit last year, but certainly a solid Major League season.”

“It’s been surprising to me to see him struggle,” Piniella said.

* Alfonso Soriano may be ready to play Tuesday, but is more likely expected back in the lineup on Wednesday.

David Patton, pitching for Double-A Tennessee, had to leave his outing Saturday after three innings when he aggravated a groin injury. Patton, on the DL since July 6, had given up one run on two hits and struck out four over three innings. He apparently re-injured himself warming up for the fourth inning, and was pulled. Tennessee won, 4-1, over Carolina.

* Left-handed reliever B.J. Ryan, whom the Cubs signed to a Minor League deal, struck out two in one inning for Triple-A Iowa in a 14-0 win over New Orleans.

Aramis Ramirez, Reed Johnson and Angel Guzman were activated from the disabled list on Monday, and Sam Fuld and Kevin Hart optioned to Triple-A Iowa. Right-hander David Patton was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a right groin strain to make room on the 25-man roster.

Lou Piniella said the decisions were tough.

“I don’t think anything was clear cut,” Piniella said. “We’ve got some outfield protection now with [Jeff] Baker and that made the Sam Fuld situation a little easier. It’s not easy sending out kids — I don’t enjoy it.”

Patton felt a twinge on Saturday, and wasn’t available Sunday. With the moves, the Cubs now have 11 pitchers on the roster, not 12.

Rich Harden wasn’t sharp on Friday in his second start since coming off the disabled list. He lasted five innings, and had trouble with his command.

“He didn’t have very good location with his fastball and that’s where he got hurt,” Cubs pitching coach Larry Rothschild said Saturday. “He couldn’t locate his fastball even in the strike zone. The first home run was a missed pitch with the fastball and so was the second. It wasn’t only the walks, it was missing the strike zone that hurt him.”

Rothschild felt Harden was throwing better before he was sidelined with low back pain and wasn’t sure what happened Friday.

“He certainly wasn’t himself yesterday,” Rothschild said.

What about Carlos Marmol? He also hasn’t been as untouchable.

“He’ll be sharp and then he’ll throw a couple bad pitches and it’ll leak into a couple more,” Rothschild said. “Instead of stopping it, he’s letting it go on. In the past, even when he’s gotten behind, he’s been able to come back. I think it’s more location with the breaking ball than anything else.”

Is the problem a little lapse in concentration?

“I think a little bit,” Rothschild said. “The aggressiveness with him has always been something that he brings to the table all the time. He’s got to get back to that.”

One pitcher who had an impressive outing Friday was Rule 5 Draft pick David Patton, who threw two scoreless innings. He mixed in a couple changeups, a pitch he’s been working on. Patton needs a third pitch.

Young right-hander David Patton made his Wrigley debut Wednesday, and looked at ease. He gave up one hit and walked one while striking out three in two scoreless innings vs. the Rockies. “Everything felt good,” Patton said. “What I want to achieve here is be patient, be ready no matter what. If they call on me, I want to go out there and give it everything I have.”

* Derrek Lee is 5-for-7 in two games at Wrigley after going 2-for-24 in the first six games. Lee isn’t too giddy. “It’s a long season,” he said. “That’s why you try to stay on an even keel. It is nice to get some hits. You don’t like starting the season like that.”

* In the “don’t believe everything you read department,” the Cubs say third baseman Aramis Ramirez did not undergo an imaging test on his back on Monday, as reported on another website. Ramirez was expected back in the lineup Thursday.

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